The Presidential Scholars Program brings some of the most distinguished voices in the area of anti-racist scholarship and policy to Amherst for short-term residencies. During their time at Amherst, visiting scholars present a public lecture, hold seminars, and meet with students, faculty, and staff. 

Launched in conjunction with Amherst’s 2020 Anti-Racism Plan, the Presidential Scholars program brings exceptional thinkers to campus for short-term residencies. Presidential Scholars are nominated by faculty and other community members and hosted by the Center for Humanistic Inquiry and the President’s Office.

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Nominate a Future Presidential Scholar

The Office of the President and the Center for Humanistic Inquiry request your nominations of eminent scholars, artists, policy experts, and public intellectuals for the Presidential Scholars Program.

2023–2024 Presidential Scholars

A photo of Natasha Trethewey

Presidential Scholar Natasha Trethewey

February 22–24, 2024: Learn more about and watch a video of Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey, who served two terms as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States (2012-2014).

A photo of Carol Anderson

Presidential Scholar Carol Anderson

October 11-13, 2023: Learn more about and watch a video of Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies at Emory University and the author of White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.

2022–2023 Presidential Scholars

Watch conversations with the four Presidential Scholars for 2022–23. In its second year, the program continued to bring preeminent scholars from a wide range of disciplines to Amherst to explore diverse themes and ideas, including the afterlife of slavery in modern American society; the role that theater, race, class, and sexuality play in shaping identity in America; and new initiatives in shaping gender and identity studies in higher education. This year also featured Jason Moran’s multidisciplinary concert program, James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters: The Absence of Ruin, Moran’s response to Orlando Patterson’s concept of the “absence of ruin”—a musical monument to a vanishing African American history.

During short-term residencies, visiting scholars presented public lectures, visited classes, and met with students, faculty, and staff. Scholars were nominated by faculty and other community members and hosted by the Center for Humanistic Inquiry in partnership with the President’s Office.

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A photo of Saidiya Hartman

Saidiya Hartman

Saidiya Hartman is a professor at Columbia University whose work explores the afterlife of slavery in modern American society.

Learn More

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An older, distinguished man in a white shirt with a bookcase in the background

Hilton Als

As a staff writer and theater critic at The New Yorker, Als brings to the magazine a sharp and lyrical perspective on performance.

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A photo of Jason Moran

Jason Moran

Pianist and composer Jason Moran has established himself as a risk taker and trendsetter for new directions in jazz performance and composition.

Watch the Video

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A photo of a woman with short hair and glasses

Karma Chávez

Chávez has been at the forefront of fostering relationships among those who study systems of power and support local and university social justice efforts.

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2021–2022 Presidential Scholars

Watch conversations with the four Presidential Scholars for 2021–22. In its first year, the program brought preeminent scholars from a wide range of disciplines to Amherst in order to deepen and enrich our campus-wide conversation about racial justice, racial history, and anti-racist scholarship, action, and policy. During short-term residencies, visiting scholars presented public lectures, visited classes, and met with students, faculty, and staff. Scholars were nominated by faculty and other community members and hosted by the Center for Humanistic Inquiry in partnership with the President’s Office.

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire.

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Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Author, critic-at-large for The Los Angeles Times, and recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, Viet Thanh Nguyen speaks with Jennifer Acker ’00, editor-in-chief of The Common.

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Kwame Anthony Appiah

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Watch a conversation with renowned ethicist and professor of philosophy and law at NYU, Kwame Anthony Appiah, as well as an interview between Professor Appiah and Sophie Wolmer ’23.

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Harriet Washington

Harriet Washington

A conversation with National Book Critics Circle Award-winning science writer, editor, and ethicist Harriet Washington, and an interview between Washington and Aditi Nayak ’23.

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Previous Speakers in This Series

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Imani Perry

Imani Perry in conversation with Anthony Jack ’07     
Watch the Video »

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Walter Johnson ’88   

The Broken Heart of America: A Conversation with Walter Johnson ’88     
Watch the video »

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Ibram X. Kendi

A conversation with Ibram X. Kendi with moderator Kimberlyn Leary ’82      
Read more »

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Helen Zia

Activism and Anti-Asian Violence: A conversation with Helen Zia      
Read more »

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Nicka Smith

Held in the Balance: The Trask 250 by Nicka Smith     
Watch the video »